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The Incredible Shrinking Man
runtime = 81 min. language = English | budget = $750,000 | gross = $1.43 milliondata-for-1957.html 'Variety Top Film Grosses for 1957' Film Data for 1957] accessed 4 May 2012 }} ">''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' is a 1957 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from his novel The Shrinking Man (ISBN 0575074639) It won the very first Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. In 2009, it was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and will be preserved for all time. Plot Scott Carey (Grant Williams), is a businessman who is on vacation on a boat, off the California coast, with his wife Louise (Randy Stuart) when he suddenly is contaminated by a radioactive cloud. At the time, Louise was below deck getting refreshments, so she wasn't affected. Subsequently, Scott, who is tall and weighs 190 pounds, thinks little of the cloud and doesn't appear to have been affected by it. However, one morning, six months later, he notices that his shirt seems too big. He blames it on the cleaners. His wedding ring falls off his finger. As this trend continues, he believes he is shrinking. At first Louise dismisses his fears as silly, but he continues to lose weight and height. Noticeably, this is shown when he looks her, previously six inches shorter than him, in the eye. He visits a prominent research laboratory, and after numerous tests, learns that exposure to the radioactive mist and some normal pesticides caused his cells to shrink. He continues to both shrink and lose weight. His story hits the headlines and he becomes a national curiosity. He also has to give up his job and stop driving. To make ends meet, he sells his story to the national press. By this point he feels humiliated and expresses his shame and impotence by lashing out at Louise. She is reduced to tears of despair at his fate. Then, it seems, an antidote is found for Scott's affliction: it briefly arrests his shrinking when he is 36½ inches (93 cm) tall and weighs 52 pounds (24 kg). Despite halting his diminution, he is told that he will never return to his former size, unless a cure is found, and that the antidote will only arrest the shrinking. Still, he seems relatively content to remain at three feet tall, and begins to accept his fate. At a circus, he briefly becomes friends with a female midget, who initially is identical in height; she is appearing in a side-show and persuades him that life isn't all negative being their size. Although their relationship is platonic in the film, it becomes romantic in the novel. During one of Scott's conversations with his new small friend, he suddenly notices he has become even shorter than her, meaning the antidote is not working. Exasperated, he runs away. He continues shrinking, and eventually is reduced to living in a dollhouse. After nearly being killed by his own cat, he winds up trapped in a basement and has to battle a voracious spider, his own hunger, and the fear that he may eventually shrink down to nothing. After defeating the spider, he accepts his fate and (now so small he can escape the basement by walking through a space in a window screen) is resigned to the adventure of seeing what awaits him in even smaller realms.The film's ending monologue implies he will eventually shrink to atomic size; but, no matter how small he does so, he concludes he will still matter in the universe and this thought gives him comfort and ends his fears of the future. =' Reception ' le.jpg]] The film was very well received by critics. It has a fresh 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Example.jpg]] RESEARCHERS Anthropology 14 Consumption 16 Dwarfism 28 Ecology 16 Endocrinology 15 Entertainment 19 Evolution 41 Food 20 Genetics 21 Research 24 Science 15 B-Movie BiologyDEC 29, ’10 6:45 PM AUTHOR arne hendriks CATEGORIES Biology, Entertainment, Evolution, Popular Culture, Shrinkfilms TAGS B-movies The shrinkfilm archive features many 50’s movies of debatable quality. And there’s a reason: B-movies of the 50’s are a rich source of inspiration for size-related speculation. The premise of the 50’s B-movie is invariably to take something out of its usual context -make people or animals large (or small)- and then deal with the consequences. In some ways it is exactly what The Incredible Shrinking Man research wants to do. However, according to biologist Michael C. LaBarbera, Hollywood’s approach to the concept has been hopelessly naïve. Absolute size cannot be treated in isolation; size per se affects almost every aspect of an organism’s biology. In a fact & fun rich article on biology in B-movies Labarbera touches on a number of interesting aspects and exposes many B-movie misgivings , some of which The Incredible Shrinking Man cannot afford to ignore. The Incredible Shrinking Man is a speculative design research about the consequences of downsizing the human species to 50 centimeters. It has been a long established trend for people to grow taller. As a direct result we need more energy, more food and more space. But what if we decided to turn this trend around? What if we use our knowledge to shrink mankind? In addition to its selection for the National Registry in 2009 by the National Film Preservation Board, it won the 1958 Hugo award for that year's best science fiction or fantasy dramatic presentation.IMDB.com awards. Sequel and Remakes Matheson wrote a script for a sequel titled Fantastic Little Girl, but the film was never produced.Reflections of a Storyteller: A Conversation with Richard Matheson William P. Simmons, Cemetery Dance magazine The script, in which Louise Carey follows her husband into a microscopic world, was later published in 2006 by Gauntlet Press in a collection titled Unrealized Dreams. The Incredible Shrinking Woman, a credited comic remake in which Lily Tomlin played the wife of an advertising man who shrinks as a result of exposure to household products was released in 1981. Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment are currently slated to produce a remake starring Eddie Murphy. It is still very early on in pre-production and no formal release date has been announced. Legacy Little Archie #35, "The Incredible Cat-Caper" (1965) by Bob Bolling was an homage to The Incredible Shrinking Man. Little Archie shrinks and fends off a cat with a sewing needle. DVD Release The Incredible Shrinking Man has been released on both Region 1 and Region 2 DVDs by Universal Studios. * The Incredible Melting Man References External links * * de:Die unglaubliche Geschichte des Mister C. es:El increíble hombre menguante fr:L'Homme qui rétrécit (film, 1957) it:Radiazioni BX: distruzione uomo nl:The Incredible Shrinking Man ja:縮みゆく人間 pt:The Incredible Shrinking Man ru:Невероятно уменьшающийся человек fi:The Incredible Shrinking Man sv:I skräckens klorStan Lee and Jack Kirby originally started out scripting and drawing the adventures of Henry Pym, a scientist who developed a way to communicate telepathically with ants and subsequently used this technology to fight crime (most likely inspired by the film The Incredible Shrinking Man) Eventually, it was decided to have Pym give his girlfriend, socialite Janet Van Dyne, shrinking powers, wings and "biological stingers", dub her the Wasp, and become his crime fighting partner. Eventually, it was decided to have Pym give his girlfriend, socialite Janet Van Dyne, shrinking powers, wings and "biological stingers", dub her the Wasp, and become his crime fighting partner. Hank Pym was created by Stan Lee, Stan’s brother Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby in 1962′s TALES TO ASTONISH #27 in a story called “The Man in the Ant Hill” . At first, he wasn’t a superhero, but a victim of his own experiment, a pretty direct lift from the film version of THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957).Hank Pym discovers a formula that allows him to shrink or enlarge objects. When he tests it on himself he shrinks to a size that will prevent him from reversing the change. He hides in an anthill but almost drowns in some honey the ants have collected, but is rescued by a friendly ant. Using a stray match he fends off a number of ants that seek to do him harm. When caught in an ant's pincers he defeats the ant using Judo. The friendly ant helps him return to the lab and grow to regular size. He decides its best to destroy the elixirs as they are too dangerous -Well,until Hank Pym deside fight crime,after the the death of his first wife. In his next appearance, he was Ant-Man. Despite the numerous, obvious liabilities presented in being a man who can shrink to the size of a bug, Ant-Man actually did pretty well and went on to co-found the Avengers (along with his wife-then-girlfriend Janet Van Dyne-ispired herself by both the movie The Wasp Woman and Outer Limits Episode ZZZZ,about a bee queen transformed into a sexy bee gal.http://jfsculpts.com/ 'The Incredible Shrinking Man' - the Bottom Line' While plenty of critics disagree, I think the only reason to watch this one is for the high cheese factor and the big props, which undoubtedly inspired the old TV series [http://www.tv.com/land-of-the-giants/show/573/summary.html Land of the Giants]. Huge pencils! Gigantic spools of thread! Great crunchy globs of cake! The big sets and the enormous furniture are fun, too, but the illusion is difficult to sustain with '50s technology. You find yourself longing for the great effects in [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097523/ Honey, I Shrunk the Kids]. As an example of movies inspired by the evils of radioactive fallout, The Incredible Shrinking Man is only middling. Head the other way on the size chart and turn to the giant ants of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them! Them!]or the paranoid hero of [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=1782 The Amazing Colossal Man] for far more entertaining accidents of the nuclear age. tinasmall84 THE MAN IN THE ANT HILL History: After inventing a shrinking serum, scientist Henry Pym tried the serum on himself. As he shrank, Pym realized that he absent-mindedly left the antidote on the window ledge, out of his reach. Running off in a panic to his yard, Pym was pursued by ants. He ran to the ant-hill to hide. Eventually, one friendly ant carried him up the wall to the serum antidote. Pym enlarged himself to normal size, then destroyed the formula. Later recreating the shrinking serum, Henry Pym also invented a “cybernetic helmet” (which allowed him to communicate with ants), and became Ant-Man in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/tales_to_astonish_35.html Tales to Astonish # 35]. At first using the serum in liquid form, Pym eventually made it into a gas form which he stored in canisters on his belt. Pym later invented a growth serum, using it to become [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=18006 Giant-Man]. The shrinking and growth serums were made in capsule form at that time. He also used the name [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=20047 Goliath], then returned to shrinking with the identity of[http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=22394 Yellowjacket]. Pym would later discover the existance of sub-atomic particles he named “Pym Particles”, which were the basis of his size-changing abilities. Pym later gave the Ant Man costume and equipment to[http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/a/antmanii.htm Scott Lang] in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=33293 Marvel Premiere #'s 47] and [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=33374 48]. Height: 6 ft. (before serum), a fraction of an inch (after serum) Demonstrated Powers: In his shrunken state, Henry Pym had no special powers, but was shown to be skilled in Judo. Comment: A “prototype” of this story can be found in[http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=14726 Harvey Comics' Alarming Tales #6] (November 1958) - “King of the Ants” - wherein a scientist creates a shrinking formula and has an adventure in an ant hill. Comment: A chronologically earlier appearance by Henry Pym can be found in the story “I Created Grutan” from [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=76176 Tomb of Darkness # 22] (which was a retconned reprint of the story “I Made the Hulk Live” from [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/strange_tales_75.html Strange Tales # 75], redrawn and relettered to make Henry Pym into [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/poolealbertst.htm Albert Poole's] lab assistant) Comment: It is possible that Henry Pym is related to Humphrey Pym (a con-man who was running a scam to convince people that he was a time-traveller from the future, but was arrested by “time police” who believed his story and put him in a real time-machine to send him back “home” (as seen in the story “The Man From Tomorrow!” in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/world_of_fantasy_17.html World of Fantasy # 17].)) http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/images/wormman.html Dear Reader: What would you have done if you were the… Worm Man! Comment: Stories with size-changing characters can be found that preceded Henry Pym's. These include: 1. [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=1055 Human Torch Comics # 2] (Fall 1940 from Timely Comics) - young Jimmy Everett ingested a shrinking formula created by Professor Schmidt and became[http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/microman.html Microman] for one appearance. 2. [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=2056 Captain America Comics # 12] (March 1942 from Timely Comics) - Dr. Crime used a shrinking formula when he fought Captain America and Bucky. 3. [http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/899/400/899_4_023.jpg Mystery Tales # 23] (Nov. 1954) - a strange street vendor can be seen selling “Shrinko”. 4. [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=13368 Yellow Claw # 3] - In 1957, the Yellow Claw used a device that shrank a team of assassins and turned them into [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/the_microscopic_army.html The Microscopic Army]. 5. [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/strange_tales_78.html Strange Tales # 78] - A spy called [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/wormmanstrangetales78.htm The Worm Man] used a shrinking formula and the growth antidote (both in pill form) to steal military secrets. 6. [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=109664 World of Fantasy # 11] - “Prisoner of the Fantastic Fog” by Angelo Torres (reprinted in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=28044 Weird Wonder Tales # 7]). [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/shrunkenbonesmorgan.htm Dr. Jerry Morgan] used his shrinking formula in gas form to shrink his brother. Dr. Morgan returned in modern times in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=28346 Defenders (vol. 1) # 21] as a member of [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/headmendef.htm The Headmen] criminal organization. 7. [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/roderick_kane.html Roderick Kane], a man from the year 5000 A.D.,travelled through time to the year 1961, where he planned to use a shrinking formula to reduce the size of Earth's population. 8. A chronologically earlier story, set during World WarII, tells how a Nazi scientist used a chemical serum to reduce Roger Aubrey to a height of 12 inches. Aubrey appeared as the superhero [http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/dynamite.html Dyna-Mite] from the supergroup [http://www.lostgenerationhandbook.com/thecrusaders.htm The Crusaders] in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=30854 The Invaders (vol. 1) #'s 14] and [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=30946 15]. Also during World War II, Captain America and Bucky encountered scientist [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/rawlingscedric.htm Cedric Rawlings], who discovered a radiation ([http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/rawlingscedric.htm#zray Z-rays]) which could shrink objects and people in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=19461 Tales of Suspense # 69]. Near the end of World War II, [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/zemoheinrich.htm Baron Heinrich Zemo]used a pair of [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/zemoandroid.htm size-changing androids] (created by[http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/a/arnimzola.htm Arnim Zola]) to battle Captain America and Bucky in[http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=22166 Avengers (vol. 1) # 56]. 9. Mutant Lucius Farnsworth (see [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/the_man_in_the_beehive.html The Man In The Beehive]) had the uncanny mental ability to shrink himself and others to the size of bees. 10. The monster [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/googam.html Googam] also demonstrated the innate ability to shrink humans. 11. The witch doctor [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/mgumbujim.htm M'Gumbu] used a magic spell to shrink his enemies down to a height of twelve inches in[http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/journey_into_mystery_61.html Journey Into Mystery # 61]. The gypsies [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/sazzik_the_sorcerer.html Sazzik the Sorcerer] and [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/darius_zamora.html Darius Zamora] were also shown casting shrinking spells against their enemies. 12. [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/corenmarktos.htm Mark Coren] was miniaturized by alien satellites in[http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/tales_of_suspense_1.html Tales of Suspense #1]. 13. And an ancient artifact known as [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/the_blue_glass_bottle.html The Blue Glass Bottle] had the supernatural ability to shrink people when they were exposed to the light passing through it. Pym was not the first to develop a growth serum, either. Some examples of growth serums which preceded Pym's are: 1. Over a century ago, scientist Thomas Burke created a growth serum which, decades later, resulted in the creation of [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/sserpo.html Sserpo] in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/amazing_adventures_6.html Amazing Adventures # 6]. 2. In the days of the Old West, [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/roaringbear.htm Chief Roaring Bear]was given a growth serum to enhance his strength and increase his height to 8 feet in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=17899 Two-Gun Kid # 65]. 3. In the year 1934, Doc Savage and his crew battled criminals enlarged to monstrous size by a “human growth formula” in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=26313 Doc Savage #'s 5] and [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=26535 6''']. 4. Dr. Dill used a growth serum on the Sub-Mariner in[http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=7495 '''Sub-Mariner (vol. 1) # 31] (April 1949). 5. Chemist [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/woltonericjim.htm Eric Wolton] created a chemical that transformed his town into a city of giants in [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=14729 Journey Into Mystery # 49]. 6. Biochemist [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/wilbur_fiske.html Wilbur Fiske] created a growth serum which turned him into a giant in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/strange_tales_70.html Strange Tales # 70]. 7. Professor Carter's growth serum was used on an ordinary ant to create [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/krang.html Krang] in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/tales_to_astonish_14.html Tales to Astonish # 14]. 8. And a nameless scientist built a “growth ray” which created [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/sporr.html Sporr] in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/tales_of_suspense_11.html Tales of Suspense # 11]. Comment: It may be worth noting that there is also a larger “macroverse” in which Earth is only a micro-world, as revealed in the “shock ending” of some stories; examples of these can be seen in the tales of[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/profdarkst.htm Professor Dark] in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/strange_tales_76.html Strange Tales #76] and the drifter [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/bradmicronautjim.htm Brad] in [http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/journey_into_mystery_56.html Journey Into Mystery #56]. http://monsterblog.oneroom.org/meet_the_monsters/the_man_in_the_ant_hill.html Category:1950s science fiction films Category:1957 films Category:American science fiction horror films Category:Films based on works by Richard Matheson Category:Films based on science fiction novels Category:Films directed by Jack Arnold Category:Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation winning works Category:Screenplays by Richard Matheson Category:Size change in fiction Category:United States National Film Registry films Category:Universal Pictures films